Churches defend faith schools in face of teachers' vote

Churches today defended their right to educate more than 1.6 million children in England and open new schools as a teachers' union debated a call to stop the government's expansion of faith schools.

Members of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers were urged to condemn Tony Blair's plans for handing religious groups a bigger role in state education.

A motion said the government's policy of increasing the number of faith schools would "hinder integration, foster religious divisions and provide fertile ground for religious and ethnic conflicts".

Union members rejected calls for legislation to "prevent the growing influence of religious organisations in state education", including the teaching of creationism or intelligent design as valid alternatives to evolution.

However, the conference did endorse a motion to stop funding of further faith schools by the year 2020 and to assist all faith schools to integrate fully into the state sector.

The Rev Chris Wilson, of the union's Cambridgeshire and Peterborough branch, spoke for the motion, which he said defended the existing balance between faith and secular schools. But he said an increase in the number of single-faith could create serious social problems.

"I want my students to feel they can come to their own views on what they may or may not believe in an environment that is caring and supportive," he said.

Hank Roberts, from the union's national executive, who proposed the motion, said: "Tony Blair and the government are determined to start increasing the number of faith schools in this country. This is stirring up a lot of problems for the future in terms of a rise in fundamentalism."

The Church of England, which has 4,700 schools, educating 940,000 children, is about halfway through a programme of establishing 100 more secondary schools.

"Education has for centuries been regarded as part of the church's mission and service to the nation," said a spokesman for the church today. He added: "The schools are popular - they are good schools. They offer an inclusive education with a Christian ethos."

Church of England schools follow the national curriculum, which covers evolution, and the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Rt Rev Rowan Williams, as head of the church has said schools should not teach creationism.

The Catholic Education Service, responsible for about 2,200 schools and sixth form colleges, with a total of 720,000 pupils, said it would be wrong for the government to withdraw funding for faith schools or to prevent new ones being established.

Parents had a right to choose an education in sympathy with their ethos, a spokesman said. Many Catholic schools were oversubscribed and were judged successful by Ofsted inspectors.

"It would be particularly damaging to prevent communities opening new schools, as many are situated in deprived areas where the church demonstrates its commitment to the poor," he said.

On the question of evolution, Catholic schools follow the national curriculum. "Creationism isn't taught in Catholic schools," he said.